1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to liquid propellant guns and particularly to a novel loading, propellant injection and firing mechanism.
2. Description of the Prior Art.
Generally, liquid propellant guns all contain a mechanism for injecting the propellant. Current designs use injection valves which cannot be exposed to high firing pressures and the injection mechanism is therefore protected from the firing pressures by using a sliding bolt. After injection, for example, the bolt moves forward in the breech, pushing the propellant column and projectile before it down the bore, until a bolt seal is ahead of the injector area. An example of this type of gun is disclosed in assignee's prior application, Ser. No. 612,817 filed Sept. 12, 1975, and now U.S. Pat. No. 3,992,976 issued Nov. 23, 1976. Although this prior design operates satisfactorily, the bolt actuating and locking system is complicated, has high power requirements and slows the rate of fire because of the start and stop action.